Mass Effect: Andromeda Update Makes Major Improvements to Faces

Late last week, BioWare issued a statement telling players that it would be updating Mass Effect: Andromeda and improving many of the game’s major issues. Among those was a promise to fix many of the facial animation inconsistencies that were seen in the game, which caused some of the characters to appear lifeless/emotionless. Today, that update has arrived and we are happy to report that the results are quite staggering.

While few expected BioWare to be able to correct the issues with Mass Effect: Andromeda’s faces so quickly, the studio has proven us wrong. With the update now live, players will notice that human and Asari characters have more realistic skin textures and eyes, and their animations are less stiff and stilted.

More importantly, the eyes for these characters have been adjusted to appear more lifelike. It’s admittedly a subtle change, but the light reflections and the details in the eyes help mitigate any prior concerns about the conversations.

Sara Ryder and Addison Look More Lifelike

Of the changes, the two biggest are to Sara Ryder, the female playable character in Mass Effect: Andromeda, and Addison, one of the major NPCs encountered throughout the game. For Sara Ryder, at least when using the default face, there are still some criticisms to be made, but the animations are less goofy than they were before.

Addison has similarly been redeemed with eyes that don’t look like those on a dead fish and facial animations that do better to convey her “tired” state. See the updated version of Addison’s introduction below:

Improvements to Asari Faces

While a lot of the focus was put on the human faces in Mass Effect: Andromeda, there was some room for improvement with the Asari faces as well. Like the humans, Asari eyes has been given a layer of sheen and reflection to make them appear more lifelike, and the signature blue skin of the Asari has been given more texture.

The differences between before and after are not as striking with the Asari as with the human faces, especially Addison, but there is still a slight improvement. Now, hopefully, fans will see the game as more of a current-gen experience.

Of course, the tweaks to faces are not the only changes BioWare made to Mass Effect: Andromeda with today’s update, but they are likely to be the most talked about. After so much fervent debate over the faces it’s nice to see BioWare respond so quickly and be able to make meaningful changes.